


Waiting Woes

by andachippedcup



Series: Domestic Belle [22]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-15
Updated: 2013-07-12
Packaged: 2017-12-12 00:14:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/804891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/andachippedcup/pseuds/andachippedcup





	1. Chapter 1

"Rumple, calm down." Belle pleaded from her position leaning against the stair railing on the first floor as her husband rushed about like a madman. The bag they'd prepared in advance of Belle going into labor was slung over his shoulder with all the things they'd likely need, yet he was still rushing about as if the world was ending. "What are you even looking for?" Belle called up the stairs.

"The blasted car keys are missing." He called downstairs. "And I had a pouch of remedies for the birth. Wolf's hair for strength and protection…currant to ease the labor pains, an apple for health…" He trailed off and she could hear the sound of him ransacking the upstairs floor.

"Rumplestiltskin, get down here this instant! We are not using _magic_ to help me give birth to our child!" Belle snapped, wincing as a twinge of pain (a contraction, she realized), hit her. "Magic comes at a price and I won't have our child paying it. Just take me to the hospital, please!" She begged as her husband poked his head over the staircase.

"No, no, it's not for a magic spell! They're innately magical items with naturally imbued strengths. Quite different than magic spells!" He explained with strained enthusiasm.

"An apple for health? Really, Rumple? I think Snow would disagree with it being good for my health." Belle surmised, a hand on her hip as she stared up at him.

"That apple was different, it had been tampered with-"

"I am going to the hospital, Rumplestiltskin. I will see you there. I hope." Belle grumbled as she stepped away from the staircase. At that moment her husband reappeared, a hand flung before him to stop her.

"No, no, no! Stop. I'll come! I just need to find the car keys." He explained, just as Belle lifted the keys in question up and dangled them above her head in his direction.

"Let's go, Rumple. Our child isn't waiting on either of us." She called to him as the man rushed down the stairs to meet her.

"The bag! I forgot it!" He yelped, whirling to dart back up the stairs, only for Belle to grab him by his upper arm, tugging at the bag's strap slung over his shoulder with her other hand.

"Breathe, Rumple. I'm the one having the baby but you're the one panicking. It's going to be alright." She smiled, pressing a soft kiss to her husband's lips. "Let's go start our family." She grinned as she towed her husband along behind her.

\-----

"We're just getting to the hospital now. Can you please take care of Hamlet for us? I'm not sure how long we'll be gone and I don't want him all alone while we're gone." Belle asked sweetly as she spoke with Ruby over the phone as her husband parked the car just outside the ER entrance and went to get a wheelchair.

Of course. His wife was in labor and yet she was still worrying about the damn pig.

"No, no. I'm fine! We both are. I promise. I will have him call you as soon as it gets close. Thank you so much Ruby. Can you let the others know? Thank you." Belle continued to chat calmly with her friend as she opened the passenger door and eased herself out of the car, the bag slung over her shoulder.

"Belle, what are you doing, dearie? Let me get a wheelchair for you!" Her husband yelled at her from afar but Belle only waved aside his concern.

"My legs work just fine, Rumplestiltskin." She beamed as she hung up with Ruby and began to make her way toward him. "Go park the car, I'll be fine!" She smiled as she patted his shoulder.

"Belle Gold you will sit in a wheelchair or so help me I will turn everyone in Storybrooke into slugs." He growled as she frowned back at him.

"I know this is all quite stressful but that's no excuse to be-" She began to chastise him, only to pause as another contraction silenced her, prompting her to clutch her rather sizable stomach. It was then that he closed the gap between them, clutching his wife supportively until the contraction passed.

"You are heavy with child and going into labor four weeks early. You need to go slow and for the love you bear me and our child, _take this seriously_." He pleaded.

Belle fell still, her blue eyes growing serious as she stared at her husband, biting her lip before she nodded.

"I-I will. I promise. I just thought if I was calm maybe it would…" She trailed off shaking her head.

"You thought it would make me calm?" He asked and she nodded shyly. "I will be much calmer if I see my wife is showing concern for her welfare and our child's." He intoned gently, kissing her lips as he slide his arms under hers and assisted her to the wheelchair he had commandeered from just inside the hospital doors.

Just as he eased her down into the chair, the hospital staff made themselves known. Leading the charge was none other than Whale himself. If he was restricted from using magic of any sort to ease his child's entrance into the world, Gold wanted the very best that this world's science could offer for his wife and baby and that had meant the science minded, magic-skeptical Whale.

"How long are your contractions lasting right now, Belle?" He asked as he assumed command of the wheelchair. "Mister Gold, I have to ask you to move your vehicle out of the ambulance bay." He directed over his shoulder, prompting Gold to turn to the nearest orderly.

"You! Park my car and get my keys back to me. If there is so much as one scratch on that vehicle, I'll have your head. Do you hear me boy?" He commanded, throwing the keys at the orderly in question before he turned back to Whale. "Done; I'm not leaving her." He growled and Whale nodded slowly before he refocused on Belle.

"Let's get you to a room, shall we?"

\-----

"No, Doctor Whale says we still have hours ahead of us. You don't need to come to the hospital. Belle says she doesn't want to trouble anyone." Gold murmured reassuringly to Snow, who had called for the fifth time to check up on Belle and the baby.

As he hung up the phone and walked back to sit at Belle's bedside, she smiled at him as he sighed, wearied from the last ten hours of worrying and pacing. Though her contractions had slowly begun to increase in both frequency and intensity, Belle had only just begun to progress into what Whale had classified as 'active labor' and apparently that could last another three to five hours.

"Labor isn't all that it's cracked up to be, is it?" Belle murmured as she rearranged the pillows behind her on the bed, exhaling slowly. "You should  rest, Rumple." Belle suggested, pointing to the chair designed for fathers-to-be which folded out into a bed like structure.

"If you don't get to rest, neither do I, darling." He responded as he took up one of her hands and pressed a chaste kiss to it. "Can I get you anything? Ice chips? A wet cloth? More pillows?" He pressed, anxious to provide her with anything she required. Belle shook her head, however, and smiled at him.

"I'm alright…just nervous." She confessed, folding her hands on top of her stomach as she stared at it lovingly. "I want to meet our Little Bean but I'm…I'm scared." Belle admitted. "What if I'm a horrible mother? I didn't have much time with my mother, I hardly know how to be one what if I-" her voice caught and she had to take a deep breath to steady herself, "-what if I'm horrible at it? What if I fail our child?"

Tears spilled down her cheeks as she gave voice to her fears and he could only clutch her hand in one of his as his other wiped the tears away from her face with the utmost of tenderness.

"Belle Gold, you are the most beautiful, loving woman I have ever met, inside and out." He stated, his voice level. "You will make an extraordinary mother. You will make mistakes because that's what parents do. But good parents aren't ones that don't mistakes; good parents are the ones that make mistakes and do everything in their power to fix them. Good parents love their children unconditionally. And I know your heart, Belle Gold; you will love this child and all of our children with all your heart. And that is how I know you will be a good parent. Because love is the most powerful magic."

He paused to brush her bangs from her face as he looked at her, adoration in his eyes.

"I would know; it was your love that saved me. If your love can make a man out of the monster that was the Dark One, than it can certainly make you an admirable mother." He smiled down at her as she smiled back at him. Were her cheeks not already painted red from exertion, they certainly would have been in response to his praise.

"I love you, Rumple."

"And I love you, Belle."

They kissed for some time, a lazy, loving action that was only interrupted when a fresh wave of contractions broke them apart and prompted Belle to wince and practice the breathing techniques they'd learned in their Lamaze lessons. When at last it had passed, she leaned back on the pillows and tugged on his hand, inviting him closer.

"Come here. Lay with me?" She asked quietly as she scooted to the side to make room for him beside her. His brows raised and instantly his body tensed, resistant to the idea of crowding her or in any way impeding her.

"Are you sure?"

She nodded in answer and slowly, stiffly, he pulled himself onto the bed beside her. Instantly, she curled up against him, her head pillowed on his shoulder as she curled up into as much of the fetal position as she could manage.

It was only a few minutes later when she dozed off on his shoulder, though perhaps 'dozing' was too generous a term for the state she found herself in. Not quite asleep but not entirely awake, roused by the slightest thing, the contractions and associated pain making actual sleep of any kind a pipe dream. Still, with her husband holding her close, the mother-to-be was as comfortable as she could possibly hope to be, all things considered. 

\-----

"How's she doing?"

By now, the question was a familiar refrain. Fourteen hours into labor and Belle was still waiting for Whale to tell her that she was ready to go to the delivery room. Despite Gold's insistence that the couple was fine on their own, Snow and Charming had shown up and apparently Ruby was staying at work only until Belle went into delivery and would then join the waiting room party. Emma and Henry would apparently not be far behind.

It seemed that Belle's support group was nothing if not loyal and determined.

"She's tired but you know Belle; she's putting on a brave face and a smile." Gold offered a weary smile as he poured himself a cup of coffee in the cafeteria while Snow filled herself a cup of hot cocoa.

"If there's anything we can do-" Snow began, only to be interrupted.

"-I'll let you know." He intoned while he stirred a bit of sugar into his coffee. Snow smiled and patted him on the shoulder.

"She's going to be okay, Gold. Whale will take good care of her and if anything goes wrong, Mother Superior could be here in a moment." Snow offered encouragingly, though the man grew stiff at the mere mention of the Blue Fairy. Unless Belle found herself on death's door and only the Blue Fairy's magic could save her, Rumplestiltskin wouldn't have the Mother Superior go anywhere near another of his children, or his wife.

The last time he'd allowed that woman to 'help' his family, it had cost him his son. He wouldn't make the same mistake twice.

Without further ado he excused himself from Snow White's company and strode back to Belle's room, the coffee nearly drained by the time his hand alighted on the door handle. As he entered the room though, the change in atmosphere was almost palpable in the air.

"Rumple!" Belle panted, sitting up straight in the bed, pain etched into every line of her face as she struggled to breathe through the pain.  He was at her side as fast as his feet could carry him, bad knee be damned as he seated himself beside her, offering her his hands to squeeze for support.

"Breathe, Belle. Steady there, that's it now." He coached, watching the fetal monitor as Belle rode out the contraction. "It won't be long now, dearie." He comforted.

"Were not ready!" Belle responded, squeezing his hand for dear life with one hand while the other gripped the side railing of her bed.

"The nursery has been prepared for weeks Belle; Little Bean's coming earlier than we expected but I promise you, we're ready." He cooed, brushing a hand through her hair.

"We don't even have….names. We never…decided anything." She panted, looking at him with wide, worried eyes. "Little Bean isn't…a name." She reminded him and he knew that her raging hormones were making this minor issue much more concerning at the moment.

"No," he smiled, patting her hand, "no it's not. But we can figure out names. It's probably a good thing we hadn't settled on them anyway. This way, we can meet them first." He smiled and she seemed to relax a little at his words.

"People…people do that? Wait to meet their children before they name them?" His answering nod seemed to be reassurance enough for her and she sighed heavily, nodding in agreement.

"We'll wait to meet them." She repeated with a strained smile.

"You won't have long to wait." Another voice sounded behind them and Belle jumped as they both turned to see Whale entering the room with a pair of nurses, a smile on his face as he surveyed the monitor. "Belle, we're moving you to the delivery room now; it's time." 


	2. Miracle in Miniature

Her brow was soaked with sweat, her hair damp and face red when Belle finally fell back on the pillows, gasping for breath and looking utterly spent. Rumplestiltskin watched his wife intently, her constricting grip on his hand forgotten in the face of his wife's pain. Guilt riddled his features, stabbing through his heart with every scream, every flicker of discomfort that crossed her face. She had spent so many hours in pain to get to this point and now she was so close to being done, so close to bringing their child into the world.

"Rumple," she gasped and not for the first time in the last hour of intense labor, he wished she would have taken the epidural to ease her pain, "I don't think I can keep this up much longer." She wheezed, clinging to him desperately. "It hurts and I'm tired, Rum. So  _tired_."

"You're close, darling. So close. Isn't she, Doctor Whale?" He called over his shoulder as the blonde doctor busied himself at Belle's feet.

"She is! You are – Belle, you're nearly there. A few more pushes and you'll be holding a beautiful baby in your arms." Doctor Whale encouraged her. Gold searched his wife's face hungrily, but her eyes remained concealed behind closed lids as she nodded in exhaustion.

It felt like only the span of a breath before he could feel her body coiling with the tension of the next wave of contractions and she clutched him tightly as she summoned her flagging energy reserves for a final go at it. Through her grip on him, he could feel her body straining, pushing and then as her grip tightened, Belle let out an agonized scream. Gold felt his heart twist painfully but even as Belle ran out of breath, their child drew its first.

The sound was clear and sharp as the infant cried out and Gold felt his head spin at the realization that this was actually happening. Belle's eyes flew open, her weary body straining forward to take in the sight of their child as Whale hurriedly bundled the infant up and tended to it. The couple watched with anxious expressions as the doctor administered the normal tests, saying nothing to the new parents. Belle's eyes glittered with concern and love and a thousand complex emotions. If possible, Belle's grip on her husband's hand grew tighter still as worry gnawed at her.

For all the centuries that he had lived, Rumplestiltskin felt that no span of time had stretched on for such an eternity as these moments that they endured without their child. His fingers burned with the need to hold their baby, the fear of losing their precious little miracle already strong.

It was not until Whale came to them, a small, wriggling pink bundle swaddled in his arms that the pair relaxed and Belle's grip on her husband slackened out of relief. As she was handed the newborn, Belle's jaw fell open as she stared at their child in awe and wonder.

"Mister and Mrs. Gold, you have a very healthy baby girl." Whale smiled at them as Belle collected their daughter into her arms as carefully as if the infant were made of porcelain.

"She's so small." Belle breathed and Gold felt his own head nodding in agreement with his wife's sentiment. Unthinking, he slipped a hand over Belle's to help her support their daughter's weight as he placed a tender kiss on first their daughter and then his wife's foreheads.

"She's five pounds, eight ounces. A little on the small side, even given the circumstances." Whale explained and somewhere in the back of Gold's weary brain, an alarm was going off but he was too absorbed in watching his daughter cry to properly process the thought.

"Is she alright?" Belle asked, concern shining through the tone of love in her voice as she clutched their daughter lovingly.

"She's small and a bit jaundiced but nothing too concerning. We'll keep an eye on her but I think she'll be just fine. If her cries and these initial tests are any indication, her lungs are in decent shape and that's what we worry about most with babies born early." Whale explained and the new parents nodded, their eyes glued to the infant. Gold watched his wife handle the babe tenderly, not even attempting to lay a finger on the child, much though he wanted to. The first few moments with the infant needed to belong to Belle. Besides, he was too busy having his breath stolen away by the image of his Belle with their daughter on her breast.

It wasn't until Belle tore her gaze away from the newborn to look to her husband, tears brimming in her eyes that he dared to lean in closer.

"We have a daughter." Belle whispered hoarsely and though he fought the emotion, wanting to remain strong for his wife, Gold felt a tear slip down his cheek. He kissed his wife's brow and nodded, his voice breaking beneath the weight of his joy.

"She's beautiful." He remarked as he put an arm around his wife. "Just like her mother." He whispered, so utterly amazed by his darling Belle's strength in that moment that he lacked the words to properly express it to her.

"I'm sweaty and tired and completely a mess." Belle laughed quietly. "But I love you for lying to me." She sighed as she smiled up at him and craned to press a kiss to his lips before she reclined back against the pillow, her eyes once more on her daughter's tiny form.

"I'm afraid you're only going to get more tired and more sweaty, Mrs. Gold." Whale remarked and it was only then that Gold's consciousness of the world expanded to include the doctor and the rest of the nursing staff once again. The young man was once more busying himself at the stirrups by Belle's feet and Gold felt a flicker of fear pass through him, instantly worried.

"What's that now?" The pawnbroker asked sharply as he studied the man with a deep frown. Whale smiled sheepishly and surveyed the Golds.

"I'm afraid your wife has still got some work ahead of her, Mister Gold. So, she's going to have to dig down deep and get a bit sweatier because your other baby is on the way now."

Gold stared blankly at Whale as the realization sank in. Very,  _very_  slowly sank in.

"O-Other baby? It…It's  _twins_?" Belle questioned, still breathless as she clutched their daughter close, her fingers gently stroking the newborn's forehead. Belle's eyes were dark as she stared at the doctor and shook her head in disbelief and confusion.

"Just a moment, darling." Gold grimaced as he stood and grabbed Whale by the collar to drag him off to the side, away from Belle and the baby. The doctor's eyes grew round but boxed in by medical supplies, staff and his patient, Whale was rather incapable of dodging the rather angry father.

Gold towed the blonde doctor over to the corner and shoved him against the wall, one hand at his throat. Of all the (limited) things that Gold could tolerate being toyed with, the welfare of his wife and child (or children, as it were) was not one such thing.

"Twins?  _Twins_ , Whale? Neglected to mention that tiny little tidbit, did you?" Gold hissed lowly, not wanting his already weary wife to hear and become distressed. Whale held up his hands pleadingly and Gold loosened his grip just enough for the doctor to speak.

"I can explain! You said at your first ultrasound that you didn't want to know anything except the health and both babies have proven very healthy for the duration of the pregnancy. I would have told you but mothers of twins are prone to stress and stress-related complications that can negatively impact both the mother and the children. If I had told you, both you and Belle would have suffered for it and been nervous wrecks. I assure you, I have been treating both your wife and your children as a multiple birth scenario since I saw two heartbeats on the monitor at the twelve week checkup.  They're in better health than some single births, to be honest. A bit on the small side but that's at least partly due to the early delivery." Whale tried to defend himself but Gold was having none of it.

"Oh yes, that's a perfectly adequate excuse for not telling a person that they were having  _two_ babies!" Gold snapped, tightening his grip again. He was just beginning to regret having left his cane by his chair when a clear voice from across the room made him freeze.

"Rumple, stop."

Belle's voice was surprisingly clear and strong for a woman who, moments ago, had seemed so thoroughly fatigued that even sitting up had been a challenge. But there she sat, their daughter nestled in her arms and her eyes blazing as she stared down her husband.

"He had good intentions. He was trying to help." Belle breathed quietly.

"Intentions? Belle, dearie,  _intent is meaningless_." Gold countered but his wife only jutted her chin out defiantly and shook her head.

"No. No  _it's not_." She stated firmly. "And besides, we're alright. Aren't we Little Bean? She crooned looking down at the infant smilingly. Gold felt his grip slacken as his wife's eyes returned to him accusingly. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you weren't happy about this beautiful surprise." Belle chastised him, too tired to truly conceal the hurt she felt at such a possibility.

It was at that moment that Gold's hand left Whale's throat entirely as the man breathed deeply and fixed his tie before he scooted quickly away from the dealmaker.

"Belle, dearie...you can't...you can't think that." He pleaded, anguished. The slight man hobbled to her, his dress shoes tapping on the tile floor as he sat down on the stool by the head of her bed. Tenderly, he twined one hand through hers and held her gaze unflinchingly. "I'm not unhappy. Not at all. Just...caught off guard. And we're woefully unprepared for  _two_  Little Beans." He confessed, though his wife only smiled tiredly.

"Miracles are not an inconvenience, Rumplestiltskin." She scolded him good naturedly, her voice quiet and tired. "They're a blessing."

He ducked his head and nodded, once more reminded of the incredible inner strength of the woman he had married. Wordlessly, he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her temple before he reached a hand out to their daughter and brushed her hand gently, only for the little infant to grab his index finger with her whole hand.

Gold froze instantly, staring down at the little creature as she clutched his hand quietly and then his face softened, utterly mesmerized. If one thing was certain, it was that he was in serious trouble since his darling little girl already had him wrapped around her little finger. But then again, given who her mother was, he couldn't exactly call that much of a surprise.

He looked to Belle in complete and utter awe and despite her exhaustion, she returned his smile, though it was short lived as her body seemed to tense and then tremble with pain.

"Rumple, take her." Belle directed suddenly and in his state of delirium, he didn't understand, couldn't comprehend what was happening.

"Belle, wha-"

"Take Little Bean!" She commanded and he swept their daughter from his wife's arms just in time for the brunette to double over with a pained scream. Her newly emptied hands grabbed great fistfuls of the bed sheets and Gold could only watch helplessly, unable to even offer her a hand to hold since he clutched their now wailing daughter to his chest.

A flurry of activity seemed to take place as nurses darted about and Whale ordered them around. At one point, one of the nurses approached Gold and attempted to take the baby away.

"Sir we have to take her to the nursery." The nurse explained but Gold would have none of it.

"Bugger the nursery, she's staying here." He snapped at the woman, looking beyond the wisp of a nurse to where Whale was once more preparing to assist Belle.

"Whale!" He snapped and the doctor looked up and met the pawnbroker's gaze, well aware what the sorcerer wanted,  _needed_ to hear but unable to give such reassurances. Even in this world, with all its medical splendor, Whale could not promise life, could not promise that Belle would be fine.  

"It's just the other baby coming, Mister Gold. Hand over your daughter to the nurse; your wife's going to need your help. She's tired and this baby is coming fast. I need you to coach her through it."

"No!" Belle cried as she strained between contractions, panting. "Don't take her away, please." Tears streamed freely down her cheeks as she held her husband's gaze. "Rumple." She begged and he shivered as the memory of their conversation returned to him, the tears she had shed then as she did now. Even after all her time with him, safe, Belle still could not fully trust the hospital, given that it had been the façade for her twenty eight years of containment. The horrible memories that being here evoked were far too intense for her to entrust anyone besides her husband with their daughter's safety.

"Mister Gold!" Whale warned and the pawnbroker turned away from his wife to face the doctor, eyes blazing.

"She stays and anyone who tries to take her from this room will have the Dark One to deal with." He hissed menacingly as he went to Belle's side. With a careful shift he moved the baby to his left arm and grabbed Belle's hand with his right.

"Steady there,  _ma Belle_." He breathed, brushing her hair away from her eyes. "Steady." He repeated with a loving smile. "Our other Little Bean is on its way." He whispered and Belle shook her head, wincing in pain as her back arched.

"Peas." She gasped loudly, sucking in air in ragged gasps. Her husband cocked his head in confusion, quite certain that Belle was speaking gibberish as a result of her pain.

"P-Peas, darling?" He asked, deciding to humor her and she nodded, a flicker of a smile breaking through her grimace of pain.

"N-Not 'Little Bean'. We have  _two_ babies." She reasoned, pausing as another contraction wracked her frame. When it passed, she continued. "Two babies. Two p-peas in a pod." She finished with a breathy chuckle and he found himself smiling in response.

"Clever." He returned, nodding as he glanced over at their daughter. "Our little peas in a pod." He breathed and gave her hand another squeeze.

Minutes ticked by slowly and Gold found his gaze straying frequently from his wife and to the doctor whose face was slowly growing concerned. It was not until Whale gave a full blown frown for the briefest of moments that Gold felt he needed to act.

"Hold strong my darling, I'll be right back. I promise." He remarked, putting her hand down with a gentle pat before he walked sternly to Whale, careful to cradle his daughter against his chest.

"Whale." He glowered and the man stood and walked to the side with him. "What's going on? No more half-truths." Gold warned and the Doctor nodded, pulling off his gloves and throwing them away before he ran a hand through his hair nervously.

"The other baby is breech. I haven't been able to turn it around. I'll let her try to have it naturally but if she can't by hour's end, we're going to have to take her to surgery." Whale stated solemnly and Gold felt his world enter a tailspin at the notion of his wife going into surgery. There were so many problems with that notion, he felt dizzy.

"She'll do it." He responded suddenly, his voice firm.

"Mister Gold, you need to prepare yourself for the possibility that-"

"I said she'll do it." Gold snapped, turning back to survey his still straining wife. He could not leave her any longer than he already had. With a sideways look at Whale, he motioned to his wife. "Just help her do it. Do whatever you can to help her." He pleaded. Whale bit his lip and gave a terse nod before he grabbed up a fresh pair of gloves and returned to the foot of the bed while Gold took up his post at the head of it.

"W-What did he say?" Belle asked instantly, her voice quivering as she trembled between contractions. Gold surveyed his wife and weighed his options. Lying to her was such an attractive option and quite frankly, his knee jerk reaction was to do just that. But she had asked him for honesty so long ago and he had agreed to give her more than just the literal truth. He could not conceal this from her if he had tried.

"The baby's facing the wrong way, darling. It's going to be even harder but we can do it. Our little pea pods need us to do it." He confessed, cupping her face with his hand. "You can do this, little lamb." He encouraged her and Belle gave a whimper but nodded, nuzzling his hand.

"Rumple?" She cried and he felt his breath catch at the note of fear in her voice as she said his name. He leaned into her until his forehead touched hers and only then did he answer.

"Yes my love?"

"I'm scared." Belle admitted, lifting her watery eyes to her husband's and the streaks on her cheeks were like splinters through his soul. That his darling little Belle should ever endure a moment's pain on his behalf was too great a burden for the man, the monster, to bear.

"So am I." He admitted quietly, cupping her face gently before he directed her attention to their daughter. "But anymore, when I feel fear, you know what I do?" He asked, smiling as she shook her head in answer. "I remember something a very brave, very wise woman once told me; do the brave thing and bravery will follow." He complimented her with a dazed smile, doing his best to be brave and for once, to tamp down the cowardice that burned inside him.

"Belle, you're going to feel some pressure and you're going to want to push but I need you not to, alright? I have to turn the baby and if you push, you'll both be in a bad way." Whale explained and Belle nodded, beads of sweat rolling down her face.

"I understand."

Gold kept his focus on his wife, allowing her to squeeze his hand as tightly as she needed while they both avoided looking to Whale. In his peripheral vision, Gold could see the man working between Belle's knees and he could feel the tension building in Belle's body as Whale worked, could see the tears welling in her eyes and her teeth digging into her lower lip as she refrained from screaming until at last, it became too much.

"I can't!" She cried, whimpering. "I can't, I have to push!" She cried and he could feel her body practically snapping with tension.

"No, Belle! Hold on!" Whale yelled over her as Belle's yell filled the room. All of this, Gold watched while holding Belle's hand with one of his, their daughter wailing as he clutched her to him, unable to do anything to assist his true love. 


	3. Wait and See

"It's a footling breech."

"What does that mean? Damn it man, I'm not a doctor! Speak to me in words I can understand!" Gold yelled, verging dangerously closer to Rumplestiltskin than to town pawnbroker. The stress of his wife's peril was enough to tip the scales more in the favor of the Dark One.

"It happens sometimes with twins. Your child's foot is pointing down so the foot will deliver before the rest of the baby. There's the potential for the umbilical cord to be squeezed, limiting oxygen to the baby. Now I can explain it to you more or I can actually attempt to try and deliver your child safely." Whale snapped, fire in his eyes as he glared down the most powerful man in town – and won.

Gold looked to Belle frantically, his little wife looking unusually pale and terribly weak. This was his fault. He should never have allowed any children of his fathering to be brought into this world. He was a cursed man and now she was suffering for it.

Clasping her hand tightly, he bowed his head and spoke to her.

"Belle, little lamb, I know you're exhausted and I know it hurts and I know that I've no reason to ask you for anything more…but I need you. I can't lose you. Our children can't lose you. So please darling, please fight. Stay with us. Stay with our peas in a pod." He whispered, pressing a tender kiss to her hand.

"I'll never…never s-stop fighting." She panted weakly, a knowing gleam in her eye and the whisper of a smile in the corner of her lips, even as she strained. Before she could say anything more, however, a scream loosed itself from her lips. It was poor comfort for the broken man in that moment but the flurry of activity at her feet informed him that she'd done it.

The baby had been delivered.

"Whale?" Gold questioned with no answer. There was no crying, no wailing of a newborn to indicate that the child was alive and well. There was nothing, save for Belle's weary panting and their daughter's fussing in the background. From his daughter's sibling, there was silence.

"Suction." Whale ordered, moving about the child carefully as they attended to the infant. Gold could see nothing but their backs as they flitted about. Despite it all, he could feel Belle's hand tighten around his own, a weak pressure but pressure nonetheless.

Even as utterly spent as she was, Belle wasn't worrying about herself. Of course; she _never_ worried about herself first.

After what seemed a lifetime of suctioning, there was suddenly a loud wail and he watched as the blonde doctor's shoulders slumped in relief as the nurses swooped in to perform the necessary tests while Whale turned back to the anxious parents.

"You have a very healthy son, Mister and Mrs. Gold." He announced as the nurses passed the second infant to Gold. Belle's hand parted from his to make room for him to hold their son and her fingers brushed tenderly against the babe's cheek. The pawnbroker felt his heart palpate uncertainly with a mixture of joy and fear. Joy at his children's good health, fear at the notion of another son. He hadn't done so well raising his first boy, after all.

But then again, he hadn't had Belle back then.

"Thank you, Doctor Whale. From all of-"

At that moment, however, the monitors at the head of Belle's bed began to go off, cutting the thankful new father off as Belle's hand fell away from their son.

"Whale, what's happening?" Gold snapped frantically, watching as Belle's eyes glazed over.

"She's losing too much blood, we need to get control of it..." Whale shook his head and resumed his frantic motions as he returned to caring for Belle.

"If you can't control the bleeding, then what?" Gold asked, jostling the infants in his arms as he stood again, prompting the pair to begin crying. He did his best to comfort them briefly but his eyes quickly returned to Whale, blazing with fear and anger.

Whale sighed and hung his head, avoiding Gold's gaze until he worked up the courage to face him.

"If we can't control the bleeding, she'll need surgery..." Whale trailed off and Gold felt his blood go cold as Belle whimpered and shook her head weakly.

"That's not what she wants." He croaked. "Is there any other way-" He began just as Whale ripped off his gloves.

"Mister Gold, listen to me. I think Belle's uterus sustained some trauma during the delivery of your son. If that's the case, the only way to stop the bleeding is to let me do my job. If I don't, your wife _will_ die. The longer we wait, the greater the possibility of her needing surgery, or that she may die. So please _let me do my job_." The doctor commanded, prompting the older man to go stock still and then nod weakly.

"A-Alright." He murmured, his voice cracking as Whale set about ordering the nurses around with a controlled fanaticism.

"I need a large-bore IV and someone needs to up her oxytocin and hang two units of packed red cells." Whale snapped and Gold watched as nurses wordlessly poked and prodded his wife with needles full of what he hoped were revitalizing drugs.

As minutes ticked by, he watched as Whale massaged Belle's stomach while his wife grimaced and grew slowly quieter and quieter as weakness seemed to seep into her bones.

"Fundal massage isn't working." Whale muttered, then looked to Belle and Gold in turn. "Belle, your blood isn't coagulating; we're going to need to do surgery to stop the bleeding." Whale explained, motioning to the nurses and calling out more orders as Belle trembled and clasped at her husband's elbow, his arms occupied by both their newborn children.

"Belle, love." He murmured to her as he leaned down by her head, rocking the still fussing infants in his arms. "Belle you can do this. They're going to take you into surgery and I'll be right there beside you dearie, I'll have Ruby watch the babies." He offered her a weak smile but Belle, whose eyes had been half closed, snapped to attention.

"No!" She gasped. "You can't leave them. Promise me. Promise me you'll never leave them." She whimpered and he felt tears welling in his eyes, caught between love of his wife and love of his children.

"I can't leave you." He protested but Belle was vehement, wasting precious energy fighting with him instead of fighting her failing body.

"You can. And you will." She nodded firmly. "Now promise me. P-Promise me you won't leave them. _Ever._ "

For several moments he was at a loss for words, images of the worst flashing before his mind's eye. What if she died? What if she died and he wasn't there to save her, to comfort her? How could she ask him to leave _her_ in her hour of need?

He was waging war with himself until he looked his wife in the eye and saw the conviction there, the power of a mother's love. There would be no arguing with her; their children needed at least one of their parents and if it couldn't be Belle, he would have to do.

"I-I promise." He nodded and Belle smiled faintly.

"I love you, Rumple." She sighed and he could not help himself as he pressed a desperate kiss to her lips, drinking in her words of affection and returning them in kind.

"And I love you." He smiled through his tears as the hospital staff entered the room and signaled that it was time. As the nurses rolled Belle away, Gold did his best not to look at the puddle of blood that was left in her wake. Instead he focused on Whale, who stood in the doorway looking at the man solemnly.

"I'll send someone out with updates as regularly as I can...One of the nurses will be in to help with the babies - they'll stay with you." He assured, raising a hand to silence Gold's objections before he could voice them. "But they'll need to do some tests and the babies will need to be given identifying bracelets and we'll take their hand, finger, and foot prints." Whale explained hurriedly. "They'll also move you to the room where Belle will be taken into for recovery"

\-----

He wasn't sure how much time passed; time seemed to hold little to no meaning with his wife in peril and him powerless to aid her. He had trudged obediently behind a nurse when she'd come to lead him to an empty recovery room set aside for Belle. And when the nurses had come to perform their necessary tests on the twins, he had watched them studiously to be certain they handled each infant with care. To be honest, he'd been engrossed in watching the babies' fingerprints being taken and their first photos, complete with little color coordinated beanies – pink for their daughter and blue for their son.

"Do these little ones have names?" One of the nurses asked from behind a pair of spectacles as she scribbled away at something on her clipboard. Jolted back to reality, he blinked at her uncomprehendingly and then shook his head slowly.

"Ah no…no they don't. My wife…She has to be here for that. To name them – we weren't expecting twins…" He shrugged, offering a finger to his daughter who wrapped her tiny fingers around it just as she had earlier, prompting him to smile. "I-Is that alright?" He questioned, suddenly fretting over the notion of having to come up with names then and there. The nurse, however, only chuckled; a soft, maternal sound that reassured him considerably.

"Of course that's alright; we'll just call them Little Girl Gold and Little Boy Gold until you and your wife have the chance to name them." She smiled and then patted his free hand. "Don't worry; these things happen. Fortunately, this world is better equipped to handle them than our old one, hmm?" She smiled and gave him a wink before she motioned the other nurse outside. At the doorway, she paused and looked back at him. "Before I forget; you've got quite a crowd in the waiting room; is there anyone you'd like me to let in to wait with you?"

Gold looked up, surprised that anyone was at the hospital. It was only after some thought that he vaguely recalled having called Ruby in a panic. Apparently the wolf girl had called everyone in town and shared the news of Belle's impending delivery.

"Yes, actually…" He responded slowly, carefully. "If you wouldn't mind…-"

\-----

The rap at the door was soft, tentative; as if the person issuing it wasn't entirely certain why they and none of the others, had been summoned. Taking his eyes off of his now sleeping children, Gold glanced at the door and managed to step away long enough to open it for the brunette waiting on the other side.

"Mr. Gold? Is everything okay?"

Henry was dressed in a charcoal pea coat and jeans, a scarf askew about his neck and his hair mussed; the boy had probably been dozing in the waiting room with his mother and grandparents, if Gold were to have hazarded a guess.

"Henry my boy, do come in." The pawnbroker gestured welcomingly into the room and the young boy stepped inside, craning his neck to stare at the two infant sized incubators the twins were in. Though both seemed healthy and strong, according to the nurses, they had still been born early (as most twins apparently were) and to air on the side of caution they were being kept in the incubators.

"Twins…Belle had _twins_?" Henry gasped as he stepped closer, shooting Gold a questioning glance to which the man could only nod tiredly.

"That she did."

"Did you know you were having twins? I didn't!" Henry beamed as he stepped closer to the incubator holding the boy, all bundled up in his little blue swaddling clothes.

"We didn't have a clue; I suppose this world still has surprises, even with technology." Gold laughed halfheartedly but Henry saw through the lie and stared him down critically.

"What's wrong Mr. Gold? Aren't you happy?" Henry asked, cocking his head to the side in puzzlement. Wordlessly, Gold seated himself in the overlarge chair that (according to the nurses) folded out into a bed for the father. He motioned to a smaller chair opposite it and Henry seated himself with a little 'plop' and stared at the older man intently.

"I'm not unhappy about the babies, my boy. It's….It's Belle." He explained, his voice cracking even as he said her name. Henry frowned, concern sweeping over him.

"Is…Is she okay?" Henry asked gently, leaning forward as he stared at the world wearied spinner with exceptionally kind eyes.

"She was bleeding and they couldn't stop it." Gold explained, reliving it all as he said the words. "Doctor Whale took her into surgery but…" And there he truly broke, unable to go on as he hung his head in shame. Shame for not having been able to protect his true love from what had always been her most pressing danger; _him_.

As he wallowed in self loathing though, a warm hand touched upon his back, rousing him from his quiet sobs as the boy patted him reassuringly before cupping one hand to his ear and whispering in the softest, most genuine voice.

"Don't worry Mister Gold, she'll be alright. I _know_ it." He encouraged and for all his might and majesty, Rumplestiltskin could do no more than sniffle as he stared up at the son of the savior in wonder and disbelief.

"How. _How do you know?_ " He asked desperately as he clutched at the boy's outreached arm. Henry smiled and shrugged.

"Because…she's your true love; she will _always_ fight for you. It's in the book." He explained it as if it were the simplest thing in the world but Rumplestiltskin drank in each word like a dying man in the desert drinking water.

Henry patted him and glanced back at the babies then back to Gold before he continued, a content, untroubled smile upon his face.

"And _you_ will always fight for her. Don't worry though; you may not know that yet but Belle knows. True love always knows."

"But-But how? What if fighting isn't enough? How do I fight for her now, like this?" Rumplestiltskin pleaded with the child, so desperate for answers that he did not care how foolish or crazed he sounded. The boy just rolled his shoulders in a careless shrug, as if the man's worries were entirely unfounded.

"It will be; true love always finds a way. You two will have your happy ending. This is only the start of it. Trust me." The boy grinned, giving Rumplestiltskin's hand one final pat before he walked back over to the babies, staring at them smilingly. "I have to go now Mr. Gold, my mom's waiting for me. But congratulations on the twins! Tell Belle she's going to be a great mom." Henry beamed as he walked to the door, halting as his hand lit on the handle to turn around and add one final thought. "Oh and Mister Gold? You're going to be great too. At being a dad, that is." Henry grinned before he opened the door and saw himself out, leaving Rumplestiltskin feeling somehow more emotionally wrung out than before.

With a sigh, he stood and dragged the chair Henry had just vacated over to rest between the two incubators. Once seated, he placed one hand upon each box, staring at his son and daughter in turn as the machines hummed monotonously in the otherwise silent room as he waited and hoped for the best.


	4. Moniker Mayhem

"Mister Gold? Mister Gold, wake up. Your wife is out of surgery." Whale intoned as he gently nudged the pawnbroker awake. Startled, he jumped to his feet, disoriented as he stared around the room, blinking fiercely as he took in the sight of his wife, unconscious in the bed that now occupied her room.

"Mister Gold, we were able to use an intrauterine balloon tamponade to slow the bleeding while we gave your wife additional blood transfusions. We gave her some uterotonics and were able to stop the bleeding. We did an ultrasound to ensure that the catheter for the balloon was in place and we removed some residual placental tissue before we closed the incision."

Gold stared blankly at the doctor, his brain still sluggish from his stolen moment of sleep (how long he'd slept exactly, he wasn't sure). But the medical jargon was flying over his head and really he didn't have the patience to deal with this.

"Cut to the chase Whale; is she going to be alright?" Gold asked point blank and Whale sighed.

"She lost a great deal of blood but we gave her blood transfusions to help counteract that. We'll need to leave the balloon inflated for at least eight hours and hopefully no more than 24 but at this point I see no reason why she shouldn't be just fine." He assured Gold, who nearly doubled over and wept with joy right there. He had to maintain his composure though because he knew one thing that Belle would want to know instantly.

"And in terms of the future…what does this mean for her health?"

"She is at minor risk for infection but there's nothing significant to report; she should be fine within a few days and this is unlikely to affect her fertility, should you two want to have more children. Overall, this shouldn't impact her going forward; though if you do choose to have children, she is at risk of experiencing increased blood loss." Whale explained but Gold was already going weak with relief.

Belle was fine. She would be fine.

They would be fine.

"Thank you, Doctor Whale." Gold murmured in a daze as he slowly walked over to Belle's bedside, utterly spent as he took one of his wife's hands in his and cradled it lovingly. Whale watched from the doorway.

"She won't wake up for several hours; we put her under anesthesia for the procedure but just hit the 'call nurse' button when she wakes up and I'll come examine her." Whale offered but if Gold heard him, the spinner gave no signs of it. Instead, he leaned forward and gently, lovingly pressed a kiss to his wife's lips.

"You had me worried, ma Belle." He whispered as he pulled away, his eyes still closed as he uttered the words. Each syllable he spoke was heavy with the weight of his love, tangible even to the doctor across the room. To overhear such a heartfelt declaration made Whale feel as if he were spying and intruding on a truly private moment though, so he began to withdraw from the doorway to leave the new family to rest.

"I'm sorry…I didn't mean to." A groggy voice answered Gold and the pawnbroker's eyes snapped open to meet the sleepy blue gaze of his wife as she smiled tiredly up at him. From the doorway, Whale blanched as he stared at husband and most decidedly awake wife with surprise.

Gold pressed a hand to his wife's cheek, drowning in the beauty of her open eyes and the melody of her voice as he laughed, an incomprehensible burden lifting off of him with her waking.

"You're awake!" He half laughed, half sang and Belle nodded minutely with a low chuckle.

"I don't know; I think I might be dreaming. Why are there two babies next to my bed?" She asked through the fog still clouding her mind. He smiled, brushing hair away from her face as he kissed her again, tenderly, then answered.

"You're very much awake; it was twins Belle. A girl and a boy. They're perfect. Ten fingers and ten toes on each of them – I counted." He breathed and through the sedation and residual pain and whatever else she must have been feeling, his Belle smiled, that small but so heart breakingly beautiful, genuine smile as she uncoordinatedly reached a hand to the nearest incubator, a tear rolling down her cheek.

"Twins?" A question, joyous in her still befuddled state. Truth be told, the fuzziness of her memory struck too close to home for him in the wake of the Lacey incident but he was so overjoyed that she was alive that he could hardly breathe.

"Twins." He confirmed as he slowly helped her into a sitting position so she could stare at their children, their little family as perfect as he could imagine it ever being.

Hesitantly, Whale stepped closer to the pair, not wanting to interrupt but utterly flummoxed as to how Belle Gold could be awake and speaking given the anesthesia she'd been subjected to.

"I hate to interrupt but I really need to do a brief exam. With all due respect, Mrs. Gold, you shouldn't be awake just yet." He interjected, meriting a scowl from Gold, though he instantly acquiesced. Where Belle's health was concerned, the maker of deals was an utter pushover, Whale had found.

Whale checked Belle's eyes and took down her vitals, his brow creased in a little frown as he tried to make sense of it all.

"Are you feeling alright? Any nausea? Dizziness? Does anything hurt?" He questioned and Belle shook her head.

"I feel like I was run over by a carriage or a car but I think that's to be expected after giving birth twice, right?" Belle offered a tired grin which Whale didn't share. It was entirely wrong, entirely against logic that she should be awake so soon after surgery. And if there was one thing Whale had long ascribed to, it was that medicine's power was rooted in reason and logic.

"I don't understand, you should be out cold with the amount of medication we pumped you full of…" He murmured more to himself than to his patient or her husband. Having overheard though, Belle just chuckled softly.

"Doctor Whale, I know why I'm awake. And none of those medical tools will help you figure it out." Belle murmured smilingly and Gold could only grin at his wife, sensing where this conversation was going.

"Please, do tell Mrs. Gold." Whale responded, hanging his stethoscope around his neck, genuinely keen on hearing her hypothesis.

"Well it's obvious, isn't it?" Belle asked, her grin widening now . "True love's kiss woke me up; it has a history of doing that, you know." Her nose crinkled delightedly as Whale pursed his lips and shook his head, once more bamboozled by the forces of magic that had once again seeped into his scientific little world.

Gold lifted his gaze from his wife to her doctor, taking in the man's general consternation and just chortled.

"I told you Victor, the power of science is secondary to that of magic." Gold hummed and Whale bit his lip and nodded before he excused himself from the hospital room, leaving the happy couple and their children alone.

\-----

"So you really had no idea it was twins?" Emma asked, the skepticism in her voice evident. As soon as Whale had given the all clear for the new mother and her children to receive visitors, Henry had begged and pleaded to be the first and so Emma had joined him. From her hospital bed, Belle just laughed and shook her head as she watched Emma while the savior held the boy twin. Seated in a chair beside her, Henry carefully held the girl, a wide smile on his face.

"Really; it was a surprise to both of us."

"And how did Mr. Gold take that? Something tells me he's not a fan of surprises." Emma mused with a wry smirk and Belle ducked her head.

"No, he's not a big fan of surprises. But after some perspective, I…I think he's pleased." Belle remarked, though her voice had lost some of its unfettered joy in the face of doubt at her husband's emotional state regarding their happy miracle.

Emma frowned.

"You think?" She pressed none too subtly.

"Well, I don't know. We haven't really had a chance to talk. We found out and then the second baby was coming and then I went to surgery and…it's just all been such a whirlwind." The confession came tumbling out of her, a heavy burden she hadn't enjoyed bearing, even if she'd only done so for a short period of time. To her credit, Emma didn't push her any further, sensing the fragility of Belle's current state and thinking better of it.

"Belle, I'm sure that after he gets over the initial shock, he'll be thrilled. I mean look at these two? What's not to love?"Emma teased, lifting up the twin in her arms so that both Belle and Henry could see the infant's face. A smile, however small, graced Belle's face and Emma noted with relief that a little color had returned to her face. All the better; given everything that had happened, Emma had no desire to strain the new mother.

"Well I like them." Henry piped up and Belle chuckled as she leaned back against the pillows. She was recovering well from her ordeal, though she still felt rather weak and was being limited on what she could do.

"I'm glad they have your royal approval, Henry." Belle replied demurely, sharing a knowing glance with Emma, who just shook her head and smiled.

"I think the kid's right; they seem like good eggs to me. And if you don't trust my judgment, trust his; Henry knows how to pick winners. Don't you, kid?" Emma inquired, giving her son a good natured nudge. At that moment, the hospital room door swung open to reveal Gold, carefully balancing a food tray on one hand, his other hand holding open the door and clutching his cane.

"Ah; I see we have company." Gold mused, taking in the savior with an appraising look, though Henry earned a warmer greeting. "Henry m'boy, good to see you. I see you've met my daughter." He raised his brows in the boy's direction and waved his cane at him. "Don't get too attached; she's not allowed to date. Ever." He warned good naturedly and Henry rolled his eyes but smiled.

"I don't think you have to worry about it Mister Gold…technically, she's my Aunt…isn't she?" Henry inquired, turning quizzically to his mother, whose eyes widened as she looked awkwardly at Gold, whose eyes grew round, the comment having fallen from his lips before he had really given consideration to who was holding his child. Belle, however, giggled delightedly in the background, utterly entertained by all of it.

"Yes Henry, she is. Now be a good nephew and bring your Aunt over here to your Grandmother." Belle winked, prompting her husband to groan and Emma to cover her face with one hand. Henry, however, seemed to share Belle's amusement and, grinning, brought the infant over.

"So in other news…" Emma interrupted, abruptly changing the subject to direct the couple's focus to a less awkward subject. "-have you two come up with names for these little ones yet?" Emma inquired as she eased Little Boy Gold back into his incubator while Henry handed off the girl baby to Belle.

Rumple and Belle shared a look and shook their heads in unison, a frown knitting Belle's brows together as she surveyed her children.

"We narrowed it down to a few names but I just can't seem to choose. They don't quite feel right now that I've held them and met them. It's just so difficult! However do people do it?!" She asked as she threw her hands up in the air, not for the first time.

"What names did you narrow it down to?" Henry asked curiously and Belle sighed as she summoned the names to the front of her mind, mentally turning them over for suitability.

"Well, for a girl we had discussed Charlotte and Genevieve." Gold offered and Belle smiled as she held her daughter to her breast, nodding in agreement as she watched her daughter lovingly.

"And for a boy we were thinking maybe Tristan or Aidan." Belle offered, frowning to herself. Names were so…difficult.

"Those are all lovely names." Emma offered with a smile and Belle shook her head.

"They're not right though!" Belle murmured, lifting her daughter carefully up for the others to see. "Look at her! She's not a Charlotte and she's certainly not a Genevieve." Belle sighed heavily, tears pricking at her eyes. Picking up on her distress, her husband leaned in and kissed her forehead, murmuring reassuringly to her.

"It'll be alright love, we can come up with new names." He assured and Belle shook her head.

"No, I know that I just…it's the hormones." She explained, waving a hand before her while the other cradled their infant daughter."I just…everything makes me feel like crying. It's ridiculous, I'm sorry." Belle choked out. Gold stared helplessly at his wife until Emma stepped forward, carefully plucking Baby Girl Gold out of Belle's arms and handing the infant off to her father, who stared bewilderedly from his wife to Emma to his daughter. Emma motioned to the incubator and the spinner hobbled over with his daughter and nestled her inside gently while Emma soothed Belle.

"Belle, it's a natural thing, trust me. You know me; I am not the weepy type and I was nothing but tears after I had Henry. Your body's been through an ordeal and everything is out of sync. It's okay, just let it out." Emma coached as best she could, feeling woefully under qualified. After all, giving birth in prison to a child headed for adoption was hardly comparable to this but she had to work with the knowledge base that she had.

Henry, who had been silent for some time, was now staring at Belle quite studiously until his face lit up with a wide smile.

"Belle, Mr. Gold - you like to read, don't you?" Henry inquired, knowing full well what the librarian's answer would be and assuming that his grandfather's answer would be similar. When Belle nodded in the affirmative, he continued. "What are some of your favorite books? Or your favorite authors?" He asked and Emma cocked her head to the side, uncertain what her son was getting at but well aware from the twinkle in his eyes that he had something up his sleeves.

Not all that surprising, given his family tree.

Belle pondered Henry's question for a moment, her forehead scrunching as she thought deeply on the question. Rumplestiltskin could not help but smile; for some, the question would have been relatively easy to answer. Posing such questions to Belle though? Well, that was like asking someone to succinctly summarize the meaning of life.

"Well, I suppose I do enjoy the classics: Particularly Charles Dickens and Jane Austen." Belle offered after serious consideration. When all eyes fell to Rumplestiltskin, however, the answers were perhaps ess satisfactory.

"I don't read everything I can get my hands on the way Belle does, lad." He shrugged, only to receive a pointed nudge and a frown from his wife. With a sigh, he paused to consider, finally coming up with something. "There was the book that you gave me, dearie. Voltaire something. That was enjoyable." He relented and Belle beamed.

"Friends of Voltaire!" She clarified, though neither Henry nor Emma had asked.

It was these small answers that the couple posed to Henry, who frowned for a moment but quickly hid any disappointment their answers might have brought him.

"Well what about naming the babies after those?" He suggested simply, prompting Mr. and Mrs. Gold to blink at him uncomprehendingly. "You could name them after the authors or the characters." He added and Belle's eyes widened at the notion.

"Oh Henry, that's brilliant!" She beamed, turning to her husband as character names and authors jumbled about in her head. "I don't particularly care for Charles, but 'Jane' does have a bit of a ring to it." She mused. "Rumple, get a piece of paper, we have to start writing these down!" She intoned, exultant. With a soft grin, her husband acquiesced and rummaged about the room until he procured paper and pen for his wife, who began jotting down names rapidly.

Peering over her to their two visitors, he mouthed the words 'thank you' to Henry and Emma. In return, Henry just grinned and nodded, pleased to have been of assistance.

\-----

The next morning when Henry, this time accompanied by his other grandfather, Charming, arrived to peer at his aunt and uncle in the nursery, the placards emblazoned "Baby Girl Gold" and "Baby Boy Gold" had been removed and in their place, in crisp, black letters, the babies' names had been printed in a familiar hand.

"Evelyn Jane Gold." Charming read aloud, his voice lilting at the end to make it a question. He peered down at Henry with raised brows, but the child was busy reading the other name card.

"And Oliver James Gold. I guess Belle and Mr. Gold picked out names after all."

"Looks that way." His grandfather mused, sipping at the cup of coffee he'd brought with him. At that moment, a familiar voice interrupted them.

"We had some help."

The pair whirled to find Belle easing her way down the hallway in a wheelchair pushed by one of the nurses. The nurse guided Belle right to the nursery window and parked her there carefully. Despite all she'd been through, Belle was absolutely aglow; motherhood, though it had taken its toll, was already agreeing with her. That much was plain.

"Five minutes; then you go back to bed." The nurse warned and Belle nodded dazedly as she craned forward to see her children as Charming and Henry watched. The nurse frowned, clearly not certain that her warning had been heeded but after receiving a wave from Charming and a look that clearly said he'd watch her, the nurse sighed and walked away, leaving Belle in Charming and Henry's hands.

"So what are their names from?" Henry queried curiously, never one to be shy. Belle tore her gaze away from her children and smiled at the young boy.

"Well, Oliver is from Charles Dickens' novel "Oliver Twist" and Evelyn is the name of the author of Mr. Gold's favorite book." Belle explained. "The name Jane is from Jane Austen, one of my favorite authors. And the name James,-" Belle paused, biting her lip to contain a smile (she failed but it only made Henry grin in return), "-James was the name of a certain sheepdog that Mister Gold was very fond of, a long time ago." Belle gushed, clearly feeling both pleased and proud of the names she and her husband had settled on.

"They are both very wonderful names." Charming cut in to assure Belle and she blushed delightedly.

"Well we certainly think so. And we have Henry to thank – if it weren't for him, I think we'd still be referring to them as 'Baby Girl Gold' and 'Baby Boy Gold'." Belle commented appreciatively as she gave Henry's hand a grateful squeeze.

"Yeah, he's a pretty useful kid. Not a bad grandkid either." Charming teased, ruffling his grandson's hair before he stepped up to Belle's wheelchair and grabbed the handles. "How about we get you back to bed before that nurse comes back looking for you, hmm? Don't want to wear yourself out; you've got twins now. They'll keep you plenty busy once you're out of the hospital." Charming tried to keep his tone light but Belle was obviously reluctant to leave her children. David, however, wasn't a fan of how pale she'd grown in the short period she'd been out of the room.

"Yeah, and maybe if you're up for it we can have Ruby come over!" Henry crowed and then, in a lower, conspiratorial voice meant only for Belle, he added. "She said she was going to try and smuggle Hamlet into your room as soon as you were up for visiting with him. She says he misses you."

"That sounds wonderful; I'm sure Mr. Gold will be delighted to see Hamlet too." Belle chuckled, her eyes sparkling with mischief. He could deny it all he wanted but Belle remained convinced that her husband had a certain fondness for the little pig. Deep, _deep_ down.

It was by no means perfect and it was more than a little odd. But Belle was finding that she was quite in love with their funny little family tree. Between Neal and Henry she had a new son and grandson, not to mention the beautiful babies sleeping peacefully in the nursery who would someday call her their mother. She'd wanted to go adventuring and see the world. She'd gone farther than she'd ever imagined when they had left their fairytale home and found themselves in Storybrooke. And now she was a mother; Belle very much doubted there could be any adventure more terrifying and wonderful than that.


End file.
